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about Ostriches and Emus

About
the Ostrich

The
ostrich is the world's largest living bird. The ostrich is a flightless
bird, but it can run up to speeds of 40 mph. It can sustained this speed up to
30 minutes. The bird is indigenous to Africa and is not an endangered
species. The ostrich is the only bird that has two toes on each
foot. An ostrich reaches its breeding maturity at about three years of
age. An ostrich can live to be about 70 years old. They can weigh from 250 to
400 pounds and stand 6 to 8 feet tall. A hen can lay from 10 to 70 eggs
each year. Each egg weighs about three to four pounds and is about 6 inches in
diameter. The gestation period is 42 days. An ostrich will yield 70
to 100 pounds of meat, two to four pounds of feathers, and 12-15 square feet of
leather. Ostrich do not put their heads in the sand.

About
the Emu

The emu is
a flightless bird second in size only to the ostrich. Emu eggs are very
dark forest green in color, almost black. The texture of the egg is different
for each bird. Each egg can weigh up to 1 1/2 pounds. Newly hatched chicks
stand about 10 inches tall and have stripes like zebras, only beige and brown.
These stripes begin to fade at two to three months of age. They reach
their adult height of five to six feet around a 12 to 14 months of age. There
are no visible differences between sexes. In general Emus can weigh up to
150 pounds, live up to 35 years or more, produce for 25 years, and lay 30 to 50
eggs per season with some laying over 100 eggs. In the wild the male will hatch
the eggs and look after the chicks.